Reilly nets 21 as East Catholic gets to 10-0

Mar. 17—STORRS — Luke Reilly turned the East Catholic boys basketball team's game against E.O. Smith into his own personal shooting showcase.

The sophomore drained five 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 21 points as East Catholic cruised to a 77-48 CCC Region C victory on Tuesday.

"When you're shooting it well, the guys on the team will recognize it and get you the ball as much as possible," Reilly said "I was letting it fly and it was going in for me."

Brody Limric had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles (10-0). Luke Strole added 15 points and six rebounds.

Austin Turkis had a game-high 22 points to pace the Panthers (8-3).

East Catholic hosts Glastonbury on Thursday before visiting Tolland the next day to close out the regular season.

The Eagles will then play for the CCC title in the top-8 conference tournament beginning March 22, with games on March 24 and 26, with a makeup date of March 27.

All games will be played at the higher seed, including the finals. The host school will determine the spectator policy.

There are no state tournaments this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

East Catholic closed the first quarter on a 13-3 run to lead 20-7 after one.

A Mekhi Hayden 3-pointer cut the Panthers deficit to 35-23 with 3:34 left in the half, but the Eagles responded with an 11-0 run to carry a 46-23 lead into the locker room.

Reilly scored nine of the Eagles 11 points, hitting two treys, a layup and a free throw. He finished with 15 points in the quarter and 21 in the half.

"He's in the gym trying to get better every day, and when you have that mindset, you come out and perform really well," East Catholic coach Luke Reilly said. "Sometimes guys get hot, and it's their night. Luke got hot and his teammates did a great job of finding him and it was fun to see him play to his potential."

East Catholic led 60-35 after three and cruised to a 29-point victory.

"We're getting better every day," coach Reilly said. "We're on our way to being in a position where we're playing our best basketball at the end of the year."

EAST CATHOLIC (77): Luke Reilly 6 4-4 21; Tavian Montanez 0 2-2 2; Craig Wilson 3 0-0 8; Ray Adams 1 0-0 2; Luke Strole 6 1-1 15; James Jones 2 0-0 6; Sam Reilly 1 0-0 2; Brody Limric 8 1-2 17; Allyn Wright 1 0-0 2; William Wendry 0 0-0 0; Leondre Sanchez 1 0-0 2. Totals: 29 8-9 77.

Three-point goals: Wilson (2), Strole (2), Jones (2), L. Reilly (5).

E.O. SMITH (48): Mekhi Hayden 1 6-6 9; Austin Turkis 8 2-2 22; Niko Liapes 3 0-0 8; Christian Turner 0 1-2 1; Colby Soroka 1 0-0 2; Justin Desautels 2 2-2 6. Totals: 15 11-12 48.

Three-point goals: Hayden, Liapes (2), Turkis (4).

EAST CATHOLIC 20 26 14 17 —77

E.O. SMITH 7 16 12 13 —48

MANCHESTER 73, RHAM 64. In CCC Region C action in Manchester, Troy Butler paced four players in double figures with 14 points as the host Red Hawks snapped a six-game losing streak.

Taliek Davis scored 10 of his 12 points in the second quarter as Manchester (3-8) took a 35-30 halftime lead. Erin Strong added six fourth-quarter points, including a 3-pointer, to help put it away.

Jaylen Torres (13) and Jared Lindstrom (11) were also in double figures for the Red Hawks.

The Raptors (3-7) received 20 points from Pat Kelly and 13 points from Troy Miller.

Manchester is at Glastonbury Friday, the same day RHAM hosts East Hartford.

RHAM (64): Troy Miller 5 2-2 13; Jim Hulland 4 0-0 10; Ryan McLaughlin 1 2-2 4; Pat Kelly 9 2-9 20; Spencer Pilkington 2 1-1 5; Alex Demosthenous 2 2-3 6; Aiden Allen 2 2-2 6; Totals: 25 11-19 64.

Three-point goals: Miller, Hulland (2).

MANCHESTER (73): Taliek Davis 5 2-2-12; Erin Strong 3 1-2 9; JJ Kropp 1 0-0 2; Tyshawn Miller 0 0-0 0; Troy Butler 5 1-2 14; Eugene Thomas 1 0-0 2; Anthony Owens 1 0-0 3; Jaylen Torres 6 1-5 13; Colbi Rivera 2 3-4 7; Jared Lindstrom 5 1-1 11; Totals: 29 9-16 73.

Three-point goals: Strong (2), Butler (3), Owens.

RHAM 18 12 17 17 —64

MANCHESTER 17 18 16 22 —73

EAST HARTFORD 65, GLASTONBURY 56. In East Hartford, Jaiden Gilzene scored 23 points as the host Hornets used a second-quarter surge to take the lead for good in a CCC Region C win.

East Hartford (8-3) trailed by four before outscoring Glastonbury (6-4) 20-9 to go in front by seven at the break. The Hornets were 18-for-22 (81.8 percent) at the foul line with Jaylen Vera going 4-for-4 en route to finishing with 12 points.

Peter Sposito and Adam Molusis had 15 points each for the Guardians.

On Friday, Glastonbury hosts Manchester while East Hartford entertains RHAM.

GLASTONBURY (56): Peter Sposito 6 1-2 15; Connor O'Leary 2 1-1 5; Steve Daigle 1 0-2 2; Adam Molusis 4 4-4 15; Trey Tennyson 2 2-4 6; Dan Cantafi 1 0-0 2; Tate Kulper 2 0-0 4; Quinn Twombly 0 2-2 2; Jack Hennessey 2 1-3 5; Totals: 20 11-18 56.

Three-point goals: Sposito (2), Molusis (3).

EAST HARTFORD (65): Kevin Jefferson 1 3-3 5; Adrian Gorham 4 0-0 11; DJ Mebane 0 1-2 1; Jaiden Gilzene 9 5-7 23; Jayden Jackson 1 0-0 2; Jaylen Vera 4 4-4 12; Xavier Castro 1 0-0 2; Favour Okeke 1 0-0 2; Chael Gillespie 1 5-6 7; Totals: 22 18-22 65.

Three-point goals: Gorham (3).

GLASTONBURY 11 9 14 22 —56

EAST HARTFORD 7 20 17 21 —65

For daily updates on high school sports in JI's coverage area, follow Kyle Maher on Twitter: @KyleBMaher, Facebook: Kyle Maher, and Instagram: @KyleBMaher.